So Openly Hostile, It's Kinda Cute
DISCLAIMER: Ace Attorney belongs to Capcom. Yeah.
A/N: I've been thinking of a HoboNick/Franziska for a long time now, but I could never find the scenario or the motivation to write, but now that I have, here we go.

Things change. Some people may change beyond recognition over the span of a few years, while others may not change much, if at all. The former of the two included Phoenix Wright, once a world-famous lawyer who was now reduced to a professional gambler and a pianist, though it was apparent he didn't know the first thing about playing a good song.

As for the latter? Well, Franziska von Karma began her prosecuting career at the young age of 13 years old. Now, she's roughly 27 years old. She was very much like the whip-happy young woman that Phoenix Wright feared when he first met her. However, as she grew older, she also grew wiser and less vain, though her younger self was still there sometimes. She still believed perfection was the answer to everything, and that everyone who was beneath her (This meant just about everyone) were merely foolish fools.

When Ms. von Karma had heard about the news that her greatest nemesis, Phoenix Wright, had been disbarred back in 2019, she was devastated. She had always wanted to best him in court and have the satisfaction of watching him leave the room in shame. After all, no one bests a von Karma! And yet…instead, Franziska felt grief. Phoenix Wright was almost like someone Franziska could call a friend. Almost. After all, she didn't need friends. And loneliness was a feeling only fools felt…

Now that the year was 2026 and she was a grown woman, Franziska was still a prosecutor, though some people believed that she had passed her prime, overshadowed by that foolish show-off of a young boy Klavier Gavin. Still, despite the taunts, Franziska still continued to prosecute. It was her true passion. Her true calling.

Recently, there had been a murder. The victim was a Eugene Murdoch or something of the sort, and the defendant was supposedly Mr. Murdoch's good friend, Theodore Bennett. Because Franziska disliked the idea of being partners with a defense attorney, seeing as how they were her opponents in the battles of the court, Franziska did some research of her own, and found that this Theodore Bennett character frequently went to a place named the Borscht Bowl Club and gambled, so Franziska wasted no time making her way there. She had a case to win, and there were few things more important than that to her.

From what she had heard about the restaurant, it was a notorious place filled to the brim with criminals, but Franziska knew she had to investigate, so she went on, though she knew to keep her guard up. Her whip was never able to do any major damage (except that one time she whipped Phoenix Wright so much that he fainted), and it was mostly for intimidation, so here went nothing.

Franziska's entrance grabbed the attention of everyone in the restaurant, except for that awful piano player. Ignoring the odd looks, Franziska's first thought was to go over and smack that pianist right in his head. Damn fool shouldn't play piano if he doesn't know how to! And what an uncivilized man that was! An odd-looking beanie and a gray sweater. How suspicious.

Hell, this entire restaurant was suspicious and even Franziska felt an aura of danger in here. However, that didn't stop her from investigating. She quickly examined the strange men looking at her, and her scary-lady glare made him look away rather quickly. One man was bald, and sported merely an undershirt and very baggy jeans. He seemed like a good person to interrogate. There was also a skinny man who had the eyes of a murderer. He seemed like an even better choice. But in the end, Franziska wanted to be certain of the identity of whoever she was interrogating, so she began to walk over to the pianist.

The fact that he didn't even bother to stop playing his (awful) song to look at Franziska gave him the feeling that this man had that kind of "Yeah, I've seen this all before" vibe going on and simply didn't care for Franziska. His clothing also gave him the appearance of one who pretends to be child friendly, but for all the prosecutor could know, could own a white van. There was just something…off about that beanie.

Franziska cracked her whip in the air, and it made a loud sound like it usually did. "Stop playing that dreadful song. You're hurting my ears," she said gruffly.

"My apologies," the man said as he stopped playing. He didn't even look up to face Franziska, which annoyed her. However, the woman could see the man smirking faintly, "Do you need something, miss?"

"A man named Eugene Murdoch was murdered recently. His friend, who happens to be accused, often gambled here, I believe. His name was Theodore Bennett. Do you know him?" She asked the man, before crossing her arms, "And look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"Sorry about that, Franziska," the man said as he looked up. Franziska gasped in disbelief. It…it was him! As the man stood up, his confident smile seemed to mock Franziska, "How impolite of me to ignore an old friend."

"It…it's you! But…it can't be!"

Phoenix Wright broke into laughter, which was uncharacteristic for a man like him to do. At least, it didn't seem like something the Phoenix Wright she knew would do, but after all, time can really change a person. "I may be disbarred, but I'm not dead, Franziska."

Franziska von Karma had not seen Phoenix Wright since early 2019. The Hazakura Trial was actually the last time she had ever laid eyes on him, and now…here he was seven years later, laughing at her! In anger, she clenched her fist tightly and threw a right hook right into Wright's face. Surprisingly, he didn't flinch that much, though his cheek was now very red. Von Karma believed he deserved more than just a whipping.

Wright did nothing. All he did was smirk, and then after a few seconds of silence, he rubbed his cheek and looked at her with his mocking smile. "I deserved that, didn't I?"

"You fool!" She roared, resisting the urge to sock him again, "I see you for the first time in seven damned years and I have to tell you to look at me!"

"I can see someone hasn't changed," Phoenix chuckled.

"Whereas you've changed completely, Phoenix Wright…" Franziska growled through gritted teeth.

Wright laughed again, "So I have. Do you have some time to kill? I'd like for us to be friends again."

"You were no friend of mine, Phoenix Wright. You were my nemesis, and it has always been my dream to best you in court."

"You already have. Remember the Engarde Case?"

"You walked away smiling! That was just a hollow victory!" Franziska said as she sighed, attempting to calm herself as she turned around, looking down, "I've never met an attorney like the one you were, Phoenix Wright. And perhaps I never will again. I'll never have the satisfaction of seeing you kneel before me in defeat…"

"Hmph. That's all you cared about when you were younger. Winning. Tell me, Franny, is that still the only thing you care about?"

"I…" she muttered, not knowing how to answer. She wasn't willing to admit it, but Wright and Edgeworth had taught her a valuable lesson; winning wasn't the answer. Finding the truth was.

"It's fine, you don't have to answer," he said. Though Franziska still wasn't looking at him, she could imagine that smug smirk on his face, "Also, why aren't you looking at me?"

Growling, Franziska turned to look at him again. "I am now. And what is that I smell in your breath?!" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm not much of a drinker, but in my humble opinion, I believe some sauce helps me play the piano a tad better. Wouldn't you agree?"

Even though Franziska had never heard Wright play the piano before now, she didn't want to imagine him playing it any worse than how he already was. Franziska could very well put him and his so-called piano skills to shame right here and right now! But she had more important things to attend to. Business calls.

"No. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to. Perhaps we shall continue this conversation again, Mr. Wright," Franziska said. She couldn't let…personal issues like this stop her from doing her job. She wasn't weak-minded like this foolish fool!

As the prosecutor turned around again in an attempt to end the conversation, the pianist suddenly took Franziska's arm and turned her around.

"We have more to talk about. You can let the defense attorney do all the work for now," Phoenix said with a smug expression on his face.

"Get your dirty hands off of me or you'll regret it, you Neanderthal!" Franziska exclaimed as she tried to break free of Wright's grasp.

"Now, there's the Franziska von Karma I remember. Always threatening everyone, no-nonsense attitude, and always claiming superiority over everyone. Remember the Hazakura Temple Trial, Franny? A few days after I fell off that bridge and got a cold, I returned to investigate, and you didn't even decide to lay off me. You still attacked me with your whip and insults."

"I don't remember that," she growled.

"Well, I do," Phoenix said as he pulled Franziska closer to him, "And you know what I was thinking as I was talking to you?"

"What?"

"She's so openly hostile, it's kinda cute," Phoenix replied with a knowing smile, before pulling the prosecutor ever so slightly closer to him.

"What do you think you're—" Franziska began before she was cut off. Before she knew it, she found her lips meeting Wright's.

The kiss lasted for a few seconds. Franziska could practically taste the alcohol in Phoenix's mouth, while Wright could smell Franziska's vanilla perfume. The whip-using prosecutor herself, with all of her intelligence, had to take a moment to deduce that Phoenix Wright was kissing her, and then realized she had to push him away, which she eventually did. "You disgusting brute!" She practically yelled as she slapped the pianist.

"Oh, come now," Phoenix said as he laughed off the slap. His other cheek was red now, just as his punch wound was healing ,"Is that any way to treat an old friend you haven't seen in forever?"

"You kissed me, and you probably would've violated me if I gave you the chance, seeing the state you're in now!"

"Perhaps you should continue this conversation somewhere else? I'm tryin' to have a bowl of borscht here!" The bald man from earlier said to them, eating his lunch.

"Fair enough," Phoenix said as he held on tighter to Franziska's arm, "Come on, then. Follow me," he said as he began walking towards the back door.

Franziska attempted to force her arm out of Phoenix's hand once more, though to no avail. "I'm not going anywhere with you, you dirty pig! I have work to attend to, and I've spared more than a few minutes for you!"

"Just a few more never hurt anyone," he said as he opened the back door with his free hand, and dragged the prosecutor out. The back door led into an alley, and Phoenix closed the door, still tightly gripping dear old Franny's arm.

"Just what do you think—" Franziska began, before she was cut off again. Before she knew it, Franziska found herself pinned against the wall, and the drunken fool kissed her again.

Caught off-guard once again, Franziska tried to gasp, but no air came into her lungs. She shoved Phoenix away, attempting to whip him, only to see that the whip had been caught.

"…Yeah, I'm sure Trucy will really love you," Phoenix said as he let go of the whip.

"Trucy?" She asked, puzzled.

"She's my…daughter. Adopted. Her mother isn't exactly in a position to take care of her, and her father is…well, dead, so all she has is me, her beloved daddy, and my pupil, Apollo Justice."

Franziska nodded, "And you just raise her by yourself?"

"Occasionally, Apollo takes care of her, picking her up from school and whatnot sometimes, but yeah, it's usually just me, seeing as how Apollo has his own life to tend to. Y'know, I owe a lot to Trucy," Phoenix said, his eyes suddenly becoming serious. The same kind of serious expression that he sported back when he was in his mid-twenties, "If not for her, who knows where I'd be right now? After all, you couldn't imagine how I crushed I was when I had to give away my Attorney's Badge."

"You underestimate me, Phoenix Wright," Franziska said, spotting the seriousness in the imperfect fool's eyes, "I'm sure my badge was more important to me than your badge was to you, but let's not debate on that," she said, crossing her arms, but still keeping her guard up, "So you raise this girl without a mother? Tell me about this Trucy's real mother."

"Her mother? Her mother is Lamiroir," he said simply.

"Lamiroir? You mean the world-famous singer?" She asked in surprise.

Phoenix simply nodded, "Yes. You might have heard about the AJ-3 Incident?"

Franziska nodded back, "The murder of Romein LeTouse. Daryan Crescend was the killer, I believe, and Lamiroir herself was one of the witnesses."

"Correct. You see, it's a long story…" Phoenix began, and he began to tell his old friend about how she used to be the magician Thalassa Gramarye, how she got amnesia as a result of an accidental shot, how she became Lamiroir, and how she is the mother of Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright, as they were half-siblings from different marriages.

"And right now…where exactly is she?"

"Touring the world, I guess. After all, she probably doesn't actually remember Trucy or Apollo, considering she was skeptical of her identity even when I told her about it all. And it's not easy to just suddenly realize you have children when you're used to such freedom, but hey, nothing is fair."

Franziska simply nodded, saying nothing.

"Trucy is really dying for a mother figure. After all, there's just something about motherly love that I can't give," Phoenix said as he looked deep into Franziska's eyes and dared to say he saw the faintest sliver of sympathy, "She pretends to be happy with her life, though I know deep down that she's missing something. She's missing a mother. A father alone can't raise a child, just like how a mother can't raise a child alone. They both need to work together after all…"

"Hmph. And look where you are now," Franziska said as she tried to push away her sympathetic thoughts. After all, people get what they deserve…right? "To be honest, I was skeptical when I heard you presented forged evidence. It's unlike you, but I had nothing to go on, so I merely accepted it, and now I find you as a pianist. I doubt you can make that much money from playing piano poorly, in a dirty restaurant no less, to raise your daughter and make ends meet. Spill it out!"

"I gamble," he simply said, "And I never lose."

"I should arrest you right where I stand then," Franziska said assertively, "And find little Trucy another family."

"But she doesn't want another family. She'd be torn to lose me. That's why I do what I do," Phoenix said, sighing, "Besides, I had to openly admit I gamble, or else I'd already be in jail anyway for supposedly murdering Trucy's father. Also, I know you wouldn't do that to me. It's not in your nature, is it?"

"…No," Franziska said, "It isn't. I'd rather see you beaten in court, but that's not much of an option anymore, is it?"

"Not right now, but now that my name's been cleared, perhaps I'll retake the bar exam," Phoenix said. Franziska hadn't seen this serious side of Phoenix since all those years ago, and she couldn't help but feel…sorry. It was a foreign feeling to Franziska, but she knew she still felt this way.

Franziska then took a deep breath, and made a decision. "Look, Phoenix Wright, this isn't the easiest thing for me to say, but…" She said before taking another breath, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"…E-Everything," she stammered, "I'm not the easiest person to be around, and you still refer to me as your friend."

Phoenix lightly chuckled, "I just like confident women. And stop saying things like that. It's not like you," he said as he walked closer to Franziska, taking her hands in his. Three times the charm.

Franziska didn't resist this time. She felt her face grow red, and as Wright leaned in once more. He smiled as he suddenly stopped, their faces mere centimeters apart.

"Maybe after this, I'll introduce you to Trucy, and maybe she'll have someone to call Mommy…"

"One step at a time, Phoenix Wright."

"Fair enough," the pianist said as he kissed Franziska's neck sensually. Franziska felt her body shudder. In all of her 27 years, she had never let a man get this close to her, and yet…she didn't know how to feel about it. She felt her neck become wetter, and before she knew it, she let out a soft moan as she felt what seemed like nibbling on her neck.

She didn't know what emotion she was feeling right now, exactly. Was it…pleasure? Franziska found herself too prideful to say that someone else was pleasuring her. After all, she was perfect. And to be perfect meant letting no one come above her, and yet…she didn't fight back this time. Why? Was she just merely letting him do this simply because she felt sorry for him?

Before she could continue her thoughts, Franziska suddenly found herself facing Phoenix again, who leaned forward yet again and kissed her on the lips. And then…Franziska still didn't fight it. Instead, she actually somewhat…embraced it. She wrapped her arms around the imperfect man, finding comfort and something else in him. She didn't want to say happiness but…if not happiness, then what? Love was a powerful word, and it seemed that solace wasn't the right word, either, so…what?

Phoenix lowered his hands, beginning to unbutton Franziska's outfit, but she pulled away, putting her hand on his hand. Under normal circumstances, she would've whipped Phoenix, or even punched and slapped him like she did earlier, but this time, she only gently pulled away. "Not here, Mr. Wright…" She whispered to him, "Not now. Perhaps it'd be best if we develop our unique…friendship before partaking in activities such as these…"

"What a shame. I was beginning to enjoy myself," Phoenix said with that smug expression on his face, "But very well. You are busy after all, and I believe my minutes are up, so…" he continued as he stepped back, "Give me a call some time."

"I never had your number, Mr. Wright. Only the number to Wright & Co. Law Offices, and even then, I never called it."

"Very well. Afterwards, perhaps you'd be interested in meeting Trucy? And maybe I could take you out to dinner?"

"I'll think on it," Franziska said with a smile as she quickly kissed Phoenix one last time on the lips.

A/N: Oh, god. Why?! What have I done?! *Ahem* Yeah, that's my little fic. Hope you enjoyed. I think I accidentally made the characters just a tad out of character and inconsistent, but whatever. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.